Follow the crazy adventures of an Alabama cyclist taking on the Race Across America in 2015.

Daily Archives: June 16, 2011

Today was the first day of the Tour of America’s Dairyland, 11 consecutive days of racing all over southeastern Wisconsin. First, the thing that probably amazed me most about today … I had to wear arm warmers and the temperature dropped into the 50s by the end of the race. Keep in mind that summer is supposed to start in a few days! Here is a picture of the temperature after the race:

And now for the race report, the course was a classic four-corner rectangular course with a chicane shortly after Turn #3. The road between Turns #1 and #2 was really rough. There were cracks, bumps, manhole covers, and more along the entire road. There was one bump high enough to launch you (and your bike) a few inches off the ground. I went over it a lot because it was one of the places to pass people. The rest of the course was pretty good pavement except for dips and bumps around manhole covers.

I started towards the front of the group and fought hard to stay there. I was a little tentative since this was my first criterium after my bad wreck at Sandy Springs. I decided to stay on the inside of all corners to maximize safety even if it meant having to accelerate hard out of corners. Still, there were a few close calls including one near-miss where the rider in front of me slammed on his brakes hard enough to lift the rear of his bike a couple feet off the ground essentially doing a reverse wheelie on his front wheel. I thought for sure he was going down and taking me with him, but he kept it upright.

Towards the end of the race, I was able to move all the way up to the very front. I think people were getting tired. With 3 laps to go, I got a bit swarmed though and never could move back up to the front. I fought to maintain my position and then passed a bunch of people at the end who had sat up. I’m hoping I squeezed into the top 30, although points were only awarded 20 deep. There is always tomorrow!

Here is my iBike power data:

This race was in Shorewood, Wisconsin – a northern suburb of Milwaukee. Beautiful town right along Lake Michigan. Check out the pics below: